Acacia Hoskins, 8, of Port Orchard looks over the mural Thursday at the Port Orchard Marina Park. The mural has been marred by graffiti. Her dad, Craig Hoskins, said, “It only takes a few to ruin it for everyone else.”
LARRY STEAGALL/ KITSAP SUN

PORT ORCHARD - Very soon, Port Orchard police will arrest five teens who crept out in the middle of the night between June 13 and 14 to spray-paint a wide swath of ugliness at Port Orchard Marina Park.

“This crime will be cleared; we will arrest people. We know who they are; we talked to them,” Police Chief Geoffrey Marti said.

“They” — most in their late teens and both boys and girls — are gradually being rounded up now, some having been away on summer vacations.

Just after school let out, the troublesome fivesome sprayed a host of profane words, phrases and pictures on a retaining wall-turned-mural created by volunteers from Leadership Kitsap and artist Danielle Rimbert. For weeks, the volunteers had toiled at the project. They were ready to apply a protective coat, but it was too late.

The teens didn’t stop there. They gave the same treatment to equipment in a tots’ playground just feet away. They hit each handicapped-parking sign and some posts and garbage cans. They also defaced a picnic table shelter, table and walkway in the newly expanded park.

They dribbled their destruction over the names of Kitsap veterans on an honor wall.

The Port of Bremerton owns the park. Soon after, Commissioner Axel Strakeljahn went to the scene, along with the artist and volunteers who’d painted the scene’s blue waves, ship, sunset, encouraging verse and space for visitors to chalk their dreams.

There were tears of disbelief. Strakeljahn offered what comfort he could.

“It was kind of a tough time,” he said.

“It feels like a violation,” artist Rimbert said.

“The real mistake they made is that they spray-painted the veterans’ wall,” Commissioner Larry Stokes said.

A wedding rehearsal was planned for that evening on the new viewing platform. Port employees worked feverishly to remove the worst of the $5,000 in damage before the bride and groom showed up.

“I was discouraged,” Mayor Tim Matthes said.

The police chief wasn’t surprised, however. His department had arrested at least one spray-painting teen at the park the week before.

New community projects like the mural and park often get a spate of vandalism at first, when attention is high, he said.

“I’ve seen it in the past,” Marti said. He believes the arrests and punishment will deter future attacks on the waterfront recreation area.

A few years ago, the city had widespread graffiti from downtown to Mile Hill. An arrest was made, and warning signs went up on school walls.

The problem had gone away, until now.

On Monday, Rimbert and Leadership Kitsap member Sunny Wheeler painted on the last of the repairs.

Wheeler said the vandalism shouldn’t discourage good people from doing good things.

“You don’t let the bad people win,” she said.

As far as the children’s play area, Soroptimist International Port Orchard will have $30,000 of additional “sensory” play equipment for children of all abilities later this year.

“The Soroptimists want to provide a safe and fun place for the children in Port Orchard to play,” President Mary Kaltenborn said.

Port leaders also are trying to stop young people from using the mural for extreme jumping, a sport in which people jump, slide and handspring off the cityscape. A row of sticker bushes might get planted on top.

A clearly angry Port Chief Executive Officer Tim Thomson said that besides police and schools, a final solution to preserve Port Orchard’s new asset involves the entire community.

“If we try to elevate people’s respect for property ... somehow teach them the value of other people’s property, then perhaps we’ll make some progress changing attitudes.”